He served in the Missouri House of Representatives from 1996 to 2004 before being elected to the Missouri Senate in 2004 and 2008.

Like many of his challengers, Purgason made the decision to run for the U.S. Senate after becoming fed up with the Obama administration's handling of health care and the national debt.

“I’m deeply concerned about the deficit and the debt that we’re passing down to our children,” he said. “It really doesn’t matter which party is in charge. There still seems to be a culture of spending, corruption and greed.”

With 14 years of experience in working with a balanced budget, Purgason said he hopes to take his knowledge to the federal level and help enforce this concept. He considers immigration, the economy and job creation to be the main issues.

“We’ve got to find ways of stimulating the economy through promoting job growth in the private sector,” he said.